Container for a face mask

ABSTRACT

The present invention provides a novel container for carrying at least two products to be mixed together for use as a facial mask. The container comprises a base having two cavities formed therein separated by a division wall, an upper platform and a lidding foil that is removably and sealably attached to the upper platform of the base. The base may be formed of a rigid plastic material and so as to be substantially oval in shape with each cavity having a flat bottom surface. The division wall between the two cavities can include a strip pointing at an angle from one of the cavities to the other. The lidding foil can include an overhanging part that is not connect to the upper platform of the base to serve as a pull tab which can be lifted to pull the lidding foil off the upper platform when the mixture of the facial mask is to be dispensed. The base of the container may also include a shearing or piercing area to allow the container to be readily displayed, whether by hanging vertically on a display rack or otherwise.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application claims priority to a currently pending patentapplication in Spain, namely, Spanish Application No. 2010-30733 filedon Jul. 13, 2010, which is incorporated herein by reference in itsentirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a container for a face mask, such asthose used for cosmetic treatments.

2. Description of the Related Art

Basically, a face mask, which is also often referred to as a facialmask, is a cosmetic type of cream or ointment that, when applied overthe facial skin, aims to provide some kind of medical and/or cosmetictreatment.

There are different types of facial treatment masks that are availablecommercially for medical and/or cosmetic uses. One such type of cosmeticmask is based on the mixture of a powder component and a liquidcomponent. Depending on these and/or other selected substances, themixture is usually prepared just before its being applied onto the skin,due to the fact that certain substances cannot withstand a long periodof exposure after being mixed and before use, given that the mixture ofthe components which formulate many commonly used, professional facialmasks tend to spoil quickly.

Traditionally, professional cosmetic masks of this type are used inbeauty salons, hair salons and the like, and their preparation iscarried out by a trained expert such as a licensed “esthetician,”hairdresser or the like, who mixes in proper quantities two or moreproducts, which are usually provided in bulk or in large containers.Therefore, these masks are generally not used privately by unlicensedindividuals due to the fact that in order to prepare them properly, someknowledge is needed as to what are the correct components, where theycan be obtained to be reasonably certain as to their quality, and also,the appropriate quantities of the different components involved.Moreover, and as noted above, most of the components used for mixing aprofessional cosmetic mask are usually marketed in bulk, i.e., in largecontainers or packages, and sold by specialized companies. It should beunderstood that many of these components can be difficult to store, notjust because they are sold in bulk but also as they typically have arelatively short shelf life, i.e., they tend to have a relatively shortexpiry date, even before being mixed together with another component orproduct. Collectively then, it is not practical or economical for anindividual to privately attempt to prepare a commercial cosmetic mask.

One effort to avoid problems such as those described above, is a“Unit-dose container” for face and/or cosmetic masks, as shown in ES2310156 of the Spanish Patent and Trademark Office (OEPM), whichdescribes a “Unit-dose container for a face mask” that comprises twoseparate cavities, one containing a dry cosmetic product in powder orgranules and the other containing a liquid cosmetic product that servesas solvent for the former. Still considering this “Unit-dose containerfor a face mask,” when the user applies pressure over a push-buttonstructure associated with the cavity where the liquid remains, thecavity gets broken and the liquid is dispensed, so as to enter the othercavity which contains the dry cosmetic product, whereupon, the user mustthen shake the container to blend the mixture before applying it overthe skin. The inventor herein, however, considers this kind of device tohave several disadvantages. First, it features a complex configurationsince it consists of various independent parts that require separatemanufacturing and filling, and subsequent assembly. Second, it seems tobe too large to be a unit-dose container. Last, it does not offer thepossibility of being readily displayed or hung on a display rack formarketing purposes.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In an effort to present a solution to these problems, a novel containerfor a face mask has been designed and is disclosed herein.

More specifically, the present invention generally relates to a new typeof container comprising two cavities that feature a relatively simpleconfiguration and which can be filled simultaneously in a manufacturingplant, with further, the container being small and easy to display,whether by hanging on a display rack or otherwise.

As will be understood from the drawings which are part of this patentapplication and from the more detailed description which follows, thepresent invention comprises a base having two cavities formed therein,and a thin, flexible lidding foil for external sealing of the twocavities. The invention includes a division wall formed between the twocavities which preferably features a strip pointing at an angle from oneof the two cavities, preferably the one containing the liquid cosmeticproduct, to the other containing the solid cosmetic product. The bondbetween the base and the lidding foil is preferably less resistant thanon or in the remaining portions of the base. The lidding foil may alsohave an overhanging lip or small section that is detached from the base,which serves as a pull-tab thereof when the mixture of the face mask isto be dispensed. The present invention preferably also includes ashearing or piercing area, for purposes of making it easy to display,whether by hanging the container vertically on a display rack orotherwise.

The following will now summarize how the present invention works. When auser applies direct pressure on the lidding foil over the cavity thatcontains the liquid, such pressure over the liquid causes the liddingfoil to detach from the base, just over the angled area having the leastresistant bond, so that the liquid is dispensed from its cavity, intothe cavity which contains the dry cosmetic product. The user will thenpreferably gently shake the container to blend the mixture, so that ablended mixture can be applied over the skin. Finally, the lidding foilcan be lifted by means of the pull-tab designed for such purpose.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will become clearer when the drawings as well as the detaileddescription are taken into consideration.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a fuller understanding of the nature of the present invention,reference should be had to the following detailed description taken inconnection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 shows a top plan view of a container according to the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 shows a cross sectional view thereof.

Like reference numerals refer to like parts throughout the several viewsof the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

It should be noted at the outset that the drawings accompanying thisspecification describe an illustrative practical embodiment of thepresent invention and how it can be made, but importantly, the presentinvention and its principles are capable of being embodied inalternative forms or embodiments, such that the attached drawings shouldnot be considered to limit the present invention to the particularexemplary embodiment shown and described herein.

With initial reference now to FIG. 1, the present invention relates to anew and novel container 10 for a face mask, and in particular, forcarrying and allowing the blending of at least two components typicallyused to create a mixture suitable for use as a facial mask. As shown inFIGS. 1 and 2, the present invention 10 comprises a base 1 having twocavities 3, 4 separated by a division wall, 5, which is part of an upperplatform 8. In some embodiments, the base 1 and cavities 3, 4, areformed of a rigid material, such as a hard plastic, and the cavities 3and 4 can be formed by thermoforming and so as to have a generally flatbottom surface, as shown in FIG. 2.

As shown in FIG. 2, the container 10 further comprises a lidding foil 2for external sealing of the two cavities, 3 and 4, which is preferablyattached to the upper platform 8 of the base 1 by thermal sealing. Thelidding foil 2 will be made in some embodiments of a plastic materialwhich is preferably thin and flexible in nature.

Ideally, the base 1 will also be formed to have a substantially ovalshape as shown in FIG. 1, with the divisional wall 5 between thecavities 3 and 4 pointing at an angle from the cavity which contains aliquid, such as 3, to the other one which contains a solid cosmeticproduct, such as 4. With further regard to the division wall 5, the bondbetween the base 1 and the lidding foil 2 will preferably be lessresistant in this area than in the remaining upper or binding platform8. By way of example, the divisional wall 5 can include a top surfacehaving a downwardly sloped angle extending from that adjacent cavity 3to that adjacent cavity 4, such that when direct pressure is applied tothe lidding foil 2 over the cavity 3 that contains the liquid, thelidding foil 2 will detach from the base just over this angled areahaving the least resistant bond, to allow the liquid to be dispensedfrom its cavity 3, into the cavity 4 which contains the dry cosmeticproduct.

In other embodiments, the base 1 can be thermoformed into a variety ofshapes including, but not limited to, rectangular, square, hexagonal,elliptical and circular shapes. Also in other embodiments, the liddingfoil 2 can be made of an aluminum alloy.

The present inventive container 10 also includes a pull-tab 6 which isbest shown in FIG. 1. The pull tab 6 is formed in some embodiments by anoverhanging part or lip 6 of the lidding foil 2 that is not attached tothe base 1. This pull tab 6 can be readily manipulated by the hand orhands of a user to pull and lift the lidding foil 2 away from and off ofthe upper platform 8 when the mixture of the facial mask is to bedispensed.

In some embodiments, the present inventive container 10 also comprises ashearing or piercing area 7, to allow the container to be readilydisplayed, whether by hanging vertically on a display rack or otherwise.

It should be noted that the object of the present invention does notnecessarily include as part of its scope any of the materials used inthe manufacturing process for the container 10 or components of thefacial mixture, which might be replaced by other technically equivalentones, providing that they do not affect its nature or depart from thescope defined by the appended claims.

Since many modifications, variations and changes in detail can be madeto the described preferred embodiment of the invention, it is intendedthat all matters in the foregoing description and shown in theaccompanying drawings be interpreted as illustrative and not in alimiting sense. Thus, the scope of the invention should be determined bythe appended claims and their legal equivalents.

Now that the invention has been described,

1. A container for products to be mixed to create a facial mask,comprising: (a) a base, (b) said base having at least two cavitiesseparated by a division wall, (c) said base including an upper platform,and (d) a lidding foil removably and sealably attached to said upperplatform of said base.
 2. A container as recited in claim 1, whereinsaid base is made of plastic.
 3. A container as recited in claim 2,wherein said plastic is a hard plastic and formed by a thermoformingprocess.
 4. A container as recited of claim 1, wherein said base has asubstantially oval shape.
 5. A container as recited in claim 1, whereinsaid lidding foil is made of a thin flexible plastic material.
 6. Acontainer as recited in claim 1, wherein the bond between said upperplatform of said base and said lidding foil in the area around saiddivision wall is less resistant than the bond between the remainingareas of said upper platform.
 7. A container as recited in claim 1,wherein said division wall includes a strip pointing at an angle fromone of said two cavities to the other of said two cavities.
 8. Acontainer as recited in claim 1, wherein said division wall includes atop surface having a downwardly sloping angle starting adjacent one ofsaid two cavities towards the other of said two cavities.
 9. A containeras recited in claim 1 wherein said lidding foil includes an overhangingpart detached from said upper platform of said base.
 10. A container asrecited in claim 1, wherein said lidding foil is attached to said baseby a thermal sealing process.
 11. A container as recited in claim 1,further comprising a piercing area.
 12. A container as recited in claim1, further comprising a shearing area.
 13. A container as recited inclaim 1, wherein each of said two cavities are formed to have a flatbottom surface.
 14. A container as recited in claim 13, wherein saidcontainer is formed by a thermoforming process.
 15. A container for afacial mask, comprising: (a) a base having two cavities separated by adivision wall, (b) each of said two cavities formed in said baseincluding a generally flat bottom surface, (c) said division wallseparating said cavities including a strip pointing at an angle from oneof said two cavities to the other of said two cavities, (d) said baseincluding an upper platform, (e) a lidding foil removably and sealablyattached to said upper platform of said base, (f) said lidding foilincluding an overhanging part detached from said upper platform of saidbase; and (g) said base further comprising a piercing area.